Still working on an assignment for the charity Shelter during that period, photographer Nick Hedges travelled to London to take photos of slum conditions in the capital. Some of the following photos were taken at a Homeless family Shelter in South London, others in poor quality rented accommodation.

What struck me was the complete lack of any hope in the faces of the adults.

An elderly man in a bedsit room.

A young woman living in one room with her small child. (Child not seen)

A dad with one of his children at the Homeless Shelter.

An elderly man living alone in a basement room.

A mum with her child living in some shabby rented accommodation.

A young mum and her children in their room at the Homeless Shelter.

A woman living in awful conditions in a bedsit flat.

Children sharing a dormitory in the Homeless Shelter.

Two older women in slum houses awaiting demolition.

A young girl on the balcony of some tenement flats.

A mother and her children living in one room with a shared bathroom.

A woman with one of her grandchildren in a damp basement room.

Children in the communal room of the Homeless Shelter.